等级与君主制的起源:孟德斯鸠的封建法问题  

Orders and the Origins of Monarchy:Montesquieu’s Inquiry of Feudal Law

作　　者：许方毅 XU Fangyi(Department of Sociology,Peking University)

机构地区：[1]北京大学社会学系

出　　处：《社会》2025年第2期176-204,共29页Chinese Journal of Sociology

摘　　要：孟德斯鸠在《论法的精神》中的重要努力,是从历史的角度追溯现代君主制的起源,考察等级制与中介权力的形成,并最终理解君主制的统治方式。他聚焦于封建制建立这一“政体腐化”的过程,以及现代君主制如何在此基础上构成为“政体革命”。现代君主制源于日耳曼征服中君主与贵族的纽带,等级是君主制的根基。封建制不仅改变了君主权力的性质,也在实现等级平衡的过程中明确了君主与贵族的权利。在此基础上,决斗裁判培育了以荣誉为核心的风俗,进一步实现了王室司法权对领主司法权的取代,同时型塑了君主权力和以穿袍贵族为代表的诸等级。作为一种现代社会形态,君主制意味着由等级制精神构成的社会,它根源于生成性的国家权力,可以说“社会”内在于国家。通过介入关于贵族起源的历史论争,孟德斯鸠不仅对君主制这一政体形式赋予了新理解,也提供了一种历史的国家理论。In his seminal work The Spirit of the Laws,Montesquieu undertook a critical endeavor to trace the historical origins of modern monarchy,examining the formation of hierarchical structures and intermediary powers,and ultimately elucidating the governing logic of monarchy.His analysis centered on the establishment of feudalism as a process of“corruption of the polity”and how modern monarchies were constituted as“revolutions of the polity”on this basis.In the view of Montesquieu,modern monarchies were originated in the symbiotic bond between monarchs and nobles forged during the Germanic conquests,with hierarchy constituting the foundation of monarchical order.The fusion of vassalic military power and the property of fiefs gave rise to territorial jurisdiction,while the“independent liberty”of barbarians evolved into a“liberty under the law”.Crucially,the establishment of feudalism entailed a reconfiguration of monarchy itself:the primal“leader-loyalty”relationship between monarchs and vassals was supplanted by a fief-based“grant-protection”dynamic,fundamentally altering the nature of royal power.Through the pursuit of hierarchical equilibrium,reciprocal rights between monarchs and nobles were formalized.Mores centered on honor catalyzed institutional change,enabling the displacement of jurisdiction of the lords by royal jurisdiction through rationalized appellate systems.This process simultaneously shaped both monarchical power and the orders-epitomized by the robe nobility-that mediated its exercise.As a political government,monarchy’s defining feature lies in its reliance on intermediary orders for the execution of power.Monarchic authority is inherently generative:its institutional channels constitute the very fabric of society.As a modern social form,monarchy implies a society constituted by the spirit of hierarchy,which remained inextricably linked to state power,effectively rendering“society”an intrinsic dimension of the state.By intervening in historical debates about the origins

关 键 词：君主制 封建制 贵族 司法权 荣誉 

分 类 号：D90[政治法律—法学理论]